MOP03T_9: Daily Gridded Carbon Monoxide from Satellite

MOP03T_9 provides daily, gridded measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) in the troposphere derived from thermal infrared radiances observed by the MOPITT instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite. The dataset includes averaged Level 2 retrievals for CO profiles and total columns, along with gridded averaging kernels for each retrieval. Data collection began after the instrument's launch on December 18, 1999, and is ongoing.

Use Cases

• Tracking global pollution transport patterns based on daily gridded CO concentrations.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models using satellite-derived CO profile and column data.
• Analyzing long-term trends in tropospheric carbon monoxide from a continuous time series.
• Assessing regional air quality and emission source strength using spatially gridded data.

Strengths

• Provides a continuous, long-term record from a satellite instrument launched on December 18, 1999.
• Includes gridded averaging kernels, which are essential for proper comparison with models.
• Data collection is explicitly stated as ongoing, indicating active maintenance.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all platforms.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov, with no details provided on NASA Earthdata.
• Documentation gaps exist; detailed file contents require consulting an external File Spec Document.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with instrument construction funded by the Canadian Space Agency.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the MOPITT instrument on the Terra spacecraft in sun-synchronous polar orbit.

Time Range

From December 18, 1999, onward (ongoing).

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: Data.gov shows 2026-04-09, while NASA Earthdata shows 2025-02-01.

Geography

Global coverage from a polar-orbiting satellite.